Spray nozzle assembly for use with aerosol can



Jan. 17, 1961 D. D. HoLcoMB 2,968,441

SPRAY NozzLE ASSEMBLY RoR UsE WITH AERosoL CAN Filed Aug. l5, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 P Z'Erll l Il Il """"""""1 W INVENTOR.

23 .Do v1.5 .D. /loLcoMa BY @1MM/64M Tram/rvs Jan. 17, 1961 D. D. HoLcoMB 2,968,441 SPRAY NozzLE ASSEMBLY FoR use WITH AEROSOL CAN Filed Aug. 15, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. vDOME D. /oLcaMB wwp @55M United States Patent lSPRAY'NOZZLE ASSEMBLY FOR USE WITH AEROSOL CAN Doyle D. Holcomb, 320 E. 4th St.,`Grand Rapids,rMinu. Filed Aug. 15, 1958, SerrNo. 756,269 6 claims. '(Cl. 'Z39- 337) This vis a continuation-impart of my patent application for Spray Nozzle Assembly for Use With Aerosol Can, Serial No. 684,805, nowabandoned filedSeptember 18, 1957.

This invention` has relation toa spray nozzle 'assembly for'use on aerosol cans in order that the product sprayed from the can may be directed accurately lon the'location for its use even when this location is unavoidably separated from the can by various objects "and structure. While the assembly of the present invention will find'use in'numerous situations, it is particularly useful in directing'tspray type electrical contact cleaning fluid onto the contact points of electrical'eguipment isuc'h as television channel tuning units when Vsaid equipment is located far in the interior of a television set.

'Anfassembly made according to one vform of vthe invention includes a'valve actuating spray nozzle designed to replacethe original spray nozzle, a" length of flexible tubing having one end detachably connected "over the spray orifice ofthe valve operating spray nozzle, anda remote spray nozzle removably connected to anfopposite end 'of the flexible tubing. A plurality of stiffwalle'd pipes are slidably situated over-'the tubingbe'tween the two nozzles. `When one or more of Athese pipes are hand held to'b'ein bearing relation to the remote-nozzle and toeach other, the flexible'tubing is held in'a stiffconditionso'that thererno'te nozzle may beproperly positioned with respect to 'the work area. `Where it is necessary that the remote nozzle pass through -a tortuous pathin arriving-in 'alinement with the workrarea, these stiffwalled pipes will be slid to position adjacentfthe valveact-ating nozzle so that the remote nozzle and :flexible-tubingcan be thr'eaded into `the desired position. y

A circular opening and a slot between the circular opening and the outer end of ythe outermost "sectionof the stiff-walled pipe are for :holding the flexible tubing the remote nozzle to be supported tiofdis'charge4 in direction out ofaxial aline'ment with'said axis of saidpipe.

--spray nozzle assembly made according fto `notlier form of the invention can include also a`v alve actuating spray nozzle`designed to replace Vthe original spray lnozzle, alength offlexible tubing having `one'end detachably connected to the orifice of the valve operating-spray nzzl'e,and a remote spray nozzle removably "connected toanopposite end ofthe Vflexiblevtnbin'g. Astiff-walled p'ipe is {slidablysituated over the @flexible Atubing between the two nozzles. TheV outer end portion of `this stijfw'alleLd-'pipe `is also provided with a circular op'eningand a slot between said 'circular lopening and the Vouter ei'id of uthepip'e for supporting the fflexible "tubing in Athe circular opening to fcase a bend to be setin said-tubing.

In this form of the invention Ta 'length 'of deformable, non-resilient, woven wire is `situated inside of the flexible tubing between the two nozzles. This wire-is characterized r'by itsability vtofmaintain the @position into which it isldeformed, and maybe of a.somewhatlsmallerdiameter than the internalgdiameter of thefflexible-tubing. When 2,968,441 Patented-Jan. 17, h1`9 61 itis desired to'cause the contents of the aerosol can to be sprayed along a tortuous Ypath to reach the Work area, vthe flexible tubing need only be deformed to conform to the configuration of this tortuous path, and the woven wire, having been deformed with the deformation of the flexible tubing, will hold Athe tubing in the desired position. Y

In this form of 'the invention, the yinnermost end ofthe stiffwalled pipe'may also be slotted to allow the lpipe to be pushed over that portion of the flexible tube which is mounted on the beak or vprojecting orifice .portion of the valve actuating spray nozzle to lthe end vthat the fexibletubing 'will be held substantially straightout'frorn the @valve lactuating'spr'ay nozzle. When .the parts vare so positioned, the aerosol can land spray nozzleassernbly can be Voperated with a single hand.

In morst instances, in order that the maximum pressure inside of the can can build up immediately adjacent the remote nozzle, the opening through the valve actuatingspray nozzle will be somewhat greater in diameter than the opening through the remote nozzle.

Also,in the'rst form of Vthe invention, and in the second Aform of the invention, Where the flexible woven wire does Vnot occupy the entire lengthY of the flexible tubing, this flexible tubing can be manually pinched closedto prevent the escape ofthe contents of vthe aerosol lcan when the valve actuating spray nozzle ofthe assembly is being forced over the ,upright yvalve conduit "mem-ber of the aerosol can. i

In the drawings, r

Fig. 1 is an elevational view of an aerosol can having the "spray'assembly of a first form of the vpresent invention installed vthereon and extending into position in alignment with electrical Ycontacts to Vbe lcleaned past necessarily unmoveable objects and structure; v

Fig. 2 is an enlarged, fragmentary verticalsectional view of the valve actuating spray nozzle and''exible tubing of the first form of the invention when ,associated with the outlet and valve mechanism of an aerosol can;

Fig. 3 `is a fragmentary vertical sectional `vi ew of the flexible tubing, remote nozzle and 'stiff-walled pipe of the first'form of the invention; v

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary plan view of the structure of Fig. 3 with the stiff-walled pipe spaced in clearing relationship to the remote nozzle; g

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary view of the flexible tubing, remote nozzle and stiff-walled pipe with parts insecticn and parts broken away showing the relationship ofthe tubing and nozzle to the pipe when it is desired to spray at an angle to the axis of the pipe;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary elevational lview'of a rnbdied form of the invention.

Fig. 7 isran elevational View of an aerosol can'havin'g thespray nozzle of a second form of the present invention installed and extending Vinto position in alinement with electricalcontacts to be cleaned past necessarily nnmov'eable objects and structure; j l Y Fig. 8 is an elevational view of the can and assembly of jFig. 7 but withthe flexible tubeand yWiresupported Min angular relation to the stiff-walled tube;

Fig. 9`is an elevationalview of the device ofhFig. Sibut with the stiff-Walled tube removed therefrom;

Fig. 10 is an enlarged sectional view ,takenlon line 10 -101 inFig. 8;

fig. 1l is an elevational view of the assembly ofthe second form of theginvention but with the Vstiff-walled tube supported over the flexible tubeon the Vvalve 'actuating spray lnozzle;

fFig. l2:is an enlarged longitudinal sectional viewof the flexibletube woven 'wire and remote discharge nozzle of the second Kform ofthe invention; rand Fig. 13 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line 13--13 in Fig. l1.

An aerosol can conventionally includes an upright valve conduit member 11 which, when depressedor tilted operates the aerosol valve to cause the liquid within the can to be discharged upwardly through the conduit rnember. See patent to Green, Patent No. 2,731,298, granted January 17, 1956. Such cans have a spray nozzle friction pressed over the upper end of the conduit member 11. These spray nozzles can be removed by pulling upwardly thereon while holding the aerosol can stationary. A valve actuating spray nozzle 12 of the invention can be forced over the conduit member 11 to position as seen in Fig. 2 of the drawings when an upper cavity 13 of the spray nozzle is the same diameter as the outer diameter of the conduit 11. Since valve conduit memberssuch as 11 are generally made at present to have either one of two standard outside diameters, a lower cavity 14 is provided in the spray nozzle 12 to accommodate upright conduit members such as 11 which have the larger external diameter. A beak 15 is in integral part and extends forwardly from the remainder of the spray nozzle 12. It has a spray or jet opening or orifice 16 extending therethrough. The spray opening 16 is open to the interior of upright valve conduit member 11 through a passageway 17 in the nozzle 12. In order to have the proper spray effect, the size of the spray or jet opening must be relatively small. A diameter of 0.060 inch has been found suitable for this purpose.

A flexible, tubing 18 is removably mounted in frictional relationship to the outside of the beak 15. Transparent deformable, slightly resilient vinyl tubing has been found to be quite suitable for this purpose.

An opposite end of the length of flexible tubing 18 is removably and frictionally positioned over a substantially cylindrical body portion 19 of a remote spray nozzle 20. The tubing 18 may be in contact with an integral outwardly extending flange 21 of the spray nozzle 20. A spray or jet opening 22 extends through the remote spray nozzle and is of a diameter no larger than that of the jet or spray opening 16 in the valve operating spray nozzle. A diameter of 0.040 inch has been found to be most satisfactory for this opening.

In a first form of the invention, as disclosed in Figs. 1 through 6, a plurality of stiff-walled pipes indicated 23, 24 and 25 herein are loosely fitted over the flexible tubing 18 between the two spray nozzles. The diameter of an outer end portion 26 of the outermost stiff-walled pipe 23 is such that it will fit snugly but freely over the outer diameter of the flexible tubing 18 and the cylindrical body portion 19 of the remote spray nozzle 20. The outer diameter of the outwardly extending flange 21 of the spray nozzle 20 is substantially the same as that of the outer end portion 26 of the stiff-walled pipe 23.

-Each of the pipes 23, 24 and 25 are of uniform diameter and cross section so that when the inner-most pipe 25 is forced in direction toward the spray nozzle 20, it will butt up against the pipe 24 which will butt up against the pipe 23 to cause them to assume a straight line relationship with respect to each other as best seen in Fig. l.

The outer end portion 26 of the pipe 23 has a circular opening 27 provided therein at location slightly spaced from the end of said pipe, and has a narrow slot 28 ex tending between the end of said pipe and said opening.

Operation of first form of the invention It is often necessary to discharge the contents of an aerosol can into some location such as the electrical contacts points 29 illustrated in Fig. 1 as being in an otherwise unaccessible portion of a piece of electrical equipment symbolically illustrated at 30. To bring the remote spray nozzle 20 into position to have the spray or jet opening 22 thereof in alinement with the work to be sprayed, an operator will force a stiff-walled pipe 25 in direction toward the remote spray nozzle 20 to stiffen the outer length of flexible tubing 18. This stitfened tubing can then be positioned as seen in Fig. 1 and the operator can depress the valve actuating spray nozzle 12 to cause liquid to be discharged first through the spray opening 16, and then through the flexible tubing 18 and the spray opening 22. As soon as sufficient liquid has been discharged to accomplish the desired purpose, the valve operating spray nozzle 12 can be released and the pressure inside of the aerosol can will cause the conduit member 11 to move in upward direction to close the aerosol valve. The liquid will continue to spray from the remote nozzle 20 only until the pressure inside of the flexible tubing 18 and the atmospheric pressure have equalized. A certain amount of liquid will then remain in the tube 18, but the diameter of the orifice or spray opening 22 is sufficiently small so that the surface tension of the liquid will prevent leakage from the spray assembly.

There are numerous situations where the straight forward spraying of the contents of the aerosol can in alinement with the axis of the stiff-walled pipe 23 will not cause the material to be deposited on the electrical contacts which it is desired to treat. The situation is illustrated in Fig. 5, where an obstruction 31 is so constituted that a straight discharge from the tube and pipe will not be effective. In this situation the pipe 23 will be moved back aong the flexible tubing 18 to the approximate position illustrated in Fig. 4. The flexible tubing is deformed or flattened to allow it to pass through the slot 28 and into the circular opening 27 in the outer end portion 26 of the pipe 23. The flexible tubing 18 will then be pulled through the opening 27 until the parts are positioned approximatelv as seen in Fig. 5. If a sharper bend is needed to direct the spray on the proper location, the remote sprav nozzle 20 and the flexible tubing can be forced even further into the opening 27 to cause an alinement of the sprav opening or orifice 22 to approach right angular relatonship with respect to the axis of the pipe 23.

It is often possible to get the hand of the operator immediately adiaeent the remote spray nozzle 20 when this nozzle is in position to deliver the spray to the desired location. In this situation, the stiff-walled pines of the main form of the invention can be slid to position adjacent the valve actuating sprav nozzle 12 if maximum flexibility of the outer end of the tubing 18 is needed. Or they can merely be allowed to slide loosely on the flexible tubing if only limited flexibility is necessary.

Where the electrical contacts to be treated are often located at positions in which the flexible tubing 18 must be threaded in a tortuous path, it may be desirable to omit the stiff-walled pipes from the assembly entirely'. This is clearly illustrated in Fig. 6.

Inasmuch as the opening or orifices 16 and 22 are quite small, it is conceivable that they may become plugged with some foreign matter present in the aerosol can itself. For this reason, it is highly advantageous that the flexible tubing be transparent. Presence of foreign matter in the tubing can then be readily visually detected. inasmuch as the tubing is replaceably frictionally held on the beak 15 of the valve actuating nozzle 12 and on the cylindrical portion 19 of the remote nozzle 20, and inasmuch as the valve actuating nozzle 12 can also be removed from the aerosol can, obstructions can quickly be cleared. This feature of the removability and replaceability of all of the parts with respect to each other is often important in replacing worn elements of the assembly and in moving the assembly from asso ciation with a spent aerosol can to association with a new fully loaded can. Should the stiff-walled pipe or one or more sections of it be needed for a certain period of use and be undesirable for other use, the flexible tub ing 18 can be removed from either of the spray nozzles to add or remove pipe as is necessary.

In a second form of the invention as disclosed in Figs.- 7 through 13, all parts identical with the parts shown in Figs. 1 through 6 bear identical numbers.

Asin'gle stiff-walled'pipe -3?is-sit'uatedaround the Iflexible 4tubing 18 to be in sliding 4relationship therewith. An fouter `end portion "34 of said pipe 33 has 'a circular opening -35 lprovided therein fat location slightly spaced from the end -of said pipe, Iand has a narrow slot 36 extending between said pipe and said opening 35.

dAn inner end portion 37 of said stiff-walled pipe 33 has `a circular #opening 38 -provided at location slightly spaced from the inner end of said pipe, and has a Vnarrow slot `39 extending between Athe end of said pipe and s'aidcircular opening 3S. l

A length of flexible, non-resilient woven wire 40 is positioned insid'eiof the llexibletubing 18 between the valve Iactuating spray nozzle andthe remote spray nozzle 20.

Operation o`f=second form of lthe invention IA 'spray nozzle assembly yand aerosol can of `the second form of Athe invention will operate the same as 'that of the `frst form of the invention with the `exception that the presence of `the flexible wire 40 Vinside of the vinyl tubing 18 will give certain distinctive advantages.

A wire 40 will be used which has the ability to retain the position into which it is bent so that when the llexible tube 18 :is bent as shown in Fig. 9, for example, it will be held in that position by the wire 40 inside of it. The presence of this wire, and the presence of the circular fopening 38 and `slot 39 -in the inner end portion of the stili-walled pipe 33 4make possible the operation of the aerosol can land -spray assembly with one hand. In *order eto do this, the still-walled pipe 33 is pushed over that portion -of the flexible ltubing 18 which is positioned `over the beak 15. `In order to accomplish this, the inner end 4portion 37 of -the Apipe33 will have to eX- pand, and this expansion is possible because of the slot 39 and opening 38. With `the parts so positioned as seen in Fig. l1, it will Vnot be necessary to support the tubing 18 with one hand, -and Va single hand can grasp the can 1'0 while the Vindex `finger thereof depresses the valve actuating spray nozzle 12 to cause discharge of the contents of the can through the ltube -18 and along the woven wir`e-40. a

Another advantage of rhaving the yflexible woven wire 40 inside of the tubing 18 apparently stems from the fact that a substantial portion of the cross-sectional diameter of the passageway through the tubing is occupied by the strands of the wire. The remaining free area for the passage of the contents of the can is, of course, substantially greater than the diameter of the jet opening, so the discharge from the outer jet opening is not affected by the presence of the wire. The volume of liquid needed to completely fill the remaining space inside of the tube is, however, substantially less than when no woven wire is present. This results in a more nearly instantaneous discharge from the outer nozzle 20 when the valve 12 is depressed; and, probably more importantly, results in an almost immediate cessation of flow from said nozzle when the valve actuating spray nozzle 12 is released.

As in the case of the rst form of the invention, the parts in the second form of the invention are all removable and replaceable. If the woven wire 40 is of length to terminate about as shown in Fig. 13, the ilexible tubing 18 may' be depressed between the ngers at the points indicated A-A at the time the valve actuating spray nozzle 12 is initially being forced down on the upright valve conduit member 11 of the aerosol can. When this is done, discharge from the can will be eliminated even though valve conduit member 11 is momenftarily depressed during the operation.

As previously stated, the size of the outer orice 22 will be small enough so that no liquid will drip from this orice after the spray nozzle 12 has been released and the pressure inside and outside the tube has become equalized. This feature has the very obvious advantage that the liquid remaining in the tube after use will not run all over any electric servicemans repair kit. It has also been found that the entrapment of a flexible tube full of liquid by Iuse "of such Fa :structur'ezr'esults '1in 'an :initial im mediate discharge -ofithisdigfuid from ,the remote spray nozzle yina solid or dropful-forrnratherthaninatoinized form which would -re'sult lif the Aflexible Itubing initially had ai-r -in it. This Ainitial charge'of unatomized L-fluizl material -gives -a very beneficial effect-in as Emuch ias this liquid `is yprojected Imuch straighter and 'more forcefully than -is the bulk ofthe latter'discharged atomizedmaterial. This allows several drops ofithe liquid to -be directed into the in-terior of som'e fel'ectrical vvequipmentand depositedtdirectly lthereon in some quantity. `effect takes place as the pressure inside the Vflexible tubing and behind the remote nozzle builds up from zero to delivery Apressure V`o`f1theaerosol can. -As l'so'on ias the Vrfull pressre'lor almost a full pressure is obtained, this material vbecomes atom'ized-as it leaves the-nozzle. 11n-'many instances, this unatornized .material will Ehave accomplished 'substant'ially all of the results wanted, -and-it fiwill be unnecessaryito cause vmuch of the atomzed-materialr-to be discharged.

What is claimed is: v

yl. The Acombination with an aerosol can fcontainin'g fluid -under lpressure land a discharge valve actuatingliquid discharge conduit, of: -a Ispra-y n'ozzle Vassembly -inclludin'g a valve actuating `spray Vnozzle 'po'sit-ioned on said discharge Iconduit and having an opening 'therethrough -in communication with an open outer lend ofthe conduit, a flexible, hollow tubing having Ia rst lend thereof in surrounding vsealing relationship to said nozzle opening, a remote spray nozzle positioned in 'a second 'end rof said tubing and having a -spray -orice ftherethroughlin Ac'nn'- munic'ation with the interior of said tubing, a stiff-walled pipe yin surrounding rrelationship -to `said flexible tubing, said remote rnozzle including lan outwardly extending flange of dimension to prevent passage of s'aidpipe foyer' said remote Yspray nozzle, an end por-'tion vof said pipe adjacent said remote vspray nozzle being provided with a circular opening of diameter approximating the outer diameter -ofsaid `flexible tubing at a position spaced `from the lend =of 'said pipe and being provided witha slot-between said circular opening andthe end of -said pipe, fthe Width of said -sl't be'ig l:less than vthe vdi'lrnettl df -Sid circular opening.

2. The combination with an aerosol can containing uid under pressure and a discharge valve actuating liquid discharge conduit, of: a spray nozzle assembly including a valve actuating spray nozzle positioned on said conduit and having a first spray orifice therein in communication with an open outer end of said discharge conduit, a llexible hollow tubing having a first end thereof in surrounding sealing relationship to said rst orice, a remote spray nozzle positioned in -a second end of said tubing and having a second spray orifice therethrough in communication with the interior of said tubing, wherein the cross sectional area of the second spray orifice is smaller than the cross sectional area of the first spray orice, a plural' ity of stiff-walled pipes of uniform cross sectional dimension each situated in surrounding relation to said flexible tubing, said remote spray nozzle including an outwardly extending flange of dimension to prevent the passage of said pipes over said remote nozzle; said second spray orice being of cross sectional area suiiiciently small to prevent leakage of liquid in said flexible tubing from said orifice when the pressure inside of the tubing is equal to the p-ressure outside thereof, said exible tubing being removably and replaceably connected to each of said spray nozzles, said valve actuating spray nozzle being removably and replaceably positioned onto said aerosol can discharge conduit, and an outermost portion of the outermost pipe being provided with a circular opening adjacent and spaced from -the outermost end of said pipe and being provided with a slot extending between said circular opening and said end of said pipe, the diameter of said circular opening approximating the diameter of said flexible tubing, and the width of said slot being less than the diameter of said circular opening.

3. The combination with a can containing uid under pressure and a liquid discharge conduit, of: a spray nozzle assembly including a exible, hollow tubing hav ing a lirst end thereof in sealing relationship to said discharge conduit, a spray nozzle positioned in a second end of said tubing and having a spray orifice therethrough in communication with the interior of said tubing, a stiiwalled pipe in surrounding relationship to said flexible tubing, an end portion of said pipe adjacent said remote spray nozzle being provided with a circular opening of diameter approximating the outer diameter of said liexibl-e tubing at a position spaced from the end of said pipe and being provided with a slot between said circular opening and the end of said pipe, the width of said slot being less than the diameter of said circular opening.

4. The combination with a can containing tiuid under pressure and a discharge conduit, of: a spray nozzle assembly including a exible, hollow tubing having a first end thereof in sealing relationship to said discharge conduit, a spray nozzle positioned in a second end of said tubing and having a spray orice therethrough in communication with the interior of said tubing and otherwise unconnected to the remainder of the spray nozzle assembly, a stili-walled pipe in surrounding relationship to said flexible tubing wherein said remote nozzle includes an outwardly extending flange of dimension to prevent passage of said pipe over said remote spray nozzle, wherein an end portion of said pipe adjacent said remote spray nozzle is provided with a circular opening of diameter approximating the outer diameter of said liexible tubing at a position spaced from the end of said pipe and is provided with a slot between said circular opening and the end of said pipe, the width of said slot being less than the diameter of said circular opening.

5. The combination with an aerosol can containing fluid under pressure and a discharge valve actuating liquid discharge conduit, of: a spray nozzle assembly including a valve actuating nozzle positioned on said discharge conduit -and having an opening therethrough in communication with an outer open end of said conduit, a flexible, hollow tubing having a first end thereof in sur- 8 rounding sealing relationship to said nozzle opening, a remote nozzle positioned in a second end of said tubing and having a spray orifice therethrough in communicaf tion with `the interior of said tubing, a sti-walled pipe in surrounding relationship to said flexible tubing and each otherwise unconnected to the remainder of the spray nozzle assembly, a length of relatively stiff, tractable, nonresilient, stranded, woven wire inside of said tubing, the cross sectional area of said wire being only slightly less than the corresponding cross sectional area of said tubing, said remote nozzle including an outwardly extending liange of dimension to prevent passage of said pipe over said remote nozzle, an end portion of said pipe adjacent said remote nozzle being provided with a circular opening of diameter approximating the outer diameter of said flexible tubing at a position spaced from the end said pipe and being provided with a slot between said circular opening and the end of said pipe, the width of said slot being less than the diameter of said circular opening.

6. The combination as specified in claim 5 wherein an inner end portion of said pipe is provided with a slot open to the inner end of said pipe.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 633,899 Peacock Sept. 26, 1899 1,219,049 Sticklin Mar. 13, 1917 1,279,029 Sjogren Sept. 17, 1918 1,314,156 Sjogren Aug. 26, 1919 1,892,750 Rotheim Jan. 3, 1933 1,971,500 Palmer Aug. 28, 1934 2,257,585 Auvil Sept. 30, 1941 2,441,321 Ingalls May 1l, 1948 2,723,882 Barnett Nov. 15, 1955 2,752,066 i Ayres June 26, 1956 2,757,962 MacLeod Aug. 7, 1956 2,759,765 Pawley Aug. 21, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS 324,457 Great Britain Ian. 30, 1930 

